Owning our destiny Yesterday we got a lot of sad, frustrating, and challenging news. The first major wave of tragedies came to bare, our isolation policy was extended, and the potential outbreak to come was reported. Stuff is getting real. So what do we do now? How are we supposed to process and handle the reality that is taking hold? Looking through the lens of Pnimius - interiority - means seeing things within their context. By the end of last week, it seemed as though surviving, and thriving, through two weeks of fear, isolation, and social adjustment was a great victory, and in many ways it was. Yet now, in retrospect, it is easy to see that the last two weeks were only preparation for the month to come. G-d, the universe, the timeline of human experience, is challenging us to change, to adapt, and hopefully to evolve. We seek assurances and direction from the powers that be, our spiritual leaders and our governments, but they can’t take reality away and they can’t face it for us. Only we can take ownership of our destiny, of the responsibility the universe offers us, in our suffering. Will we heed the call? Will we grow and evolve to something incalculably greater than we were before? This is the acceptance we are faced with. We are here, so now what are we gonna do about it. No doubt what we do will be imperfect and we will make mistakes along the way, but we can choose to turn the outcome over to the care of a higher force and take responsibility for our part. We can choose to look at the last two weeks as the perfect preparation for facing the month to come. Just for today we can accept reality for what it is and choose to Lean In to the responsibility being offered. We can abandon the outcome, the outcome of circumstance and of our experience of it, show up the best we can, just for today, with faith, curiosity, and even excitement for the growth to come. May our courage and willingness be a merit for those suffering, a shield for those at risk, and do honor to those who we have lost.